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Looters dig 100 holes at Vicksburg battlefield

VICKSBURG, Miss. —- The Warren County Sheriff's Department will increase patrols along the borders of the Vicksburg National Military Park after vandals dug about 100 holes in an apparent search for Civil War artifacts...

"I would say that this is one of the larger damage sites that we have seen," said archaeologist Jill Halchin with the Tallahassee, Fla.-based Southeast Archaeological Center. "Typically, in Civil War parks, with the metal detection technology we have now, you see small holes dug with a shovel, not big holes like in this case."

Montague said the vandals dug out the back of the Texas Monument, causing extensive damage.

"Out of the nine forts constructed during this time of the Civil War, this was the only one successfully penetrated by Union forces," Montague said.
Read entire article at AP